WEC: Porsche completes Lausitzring test

Porsche has completed a test at Lausitzring with its 919 Hybrid World Endurance Championship LMP1 contender.

The test brought the total test mileage undertaken by the car since the Le Mans 24 Hours in June to more than 4000km. Mark Webber, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas notched up just over 2000km during three days of running at the German track this week, while Marc Lieb, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard achieved a similar distance at Paul Ricard in July.

Team principal Andreas Seidl explained that the focus has been on performance testing, including the introduction of a new aerodynamic package to increase downforce.

"The target is to systematically improve the 919 Hybrid's performance," he said. "That wasn't possible before the Le Mans 24 Hours, because we had to focus on reliability and had to freeze the car specification.

"The introduction of our new aero update was important: it provides a higher downforce level and should help to improve the 919 Hybrid's race performance for the remaining rounds of the championship."

Photos from the test at Lausitz show an aero configuration that, externally at least, is not dramatically different to that seen in the opening three rounds of the WEC up to and including Le Mans. That is in line with statements from Porsche early in the season that it would not have a distinct high-downforce package for the second leg of the WEC.

Porsche has one more test of its 919 Hybrid scheduled ahead of the resumption of the WEC at Circuit of The Americas next month.